The Trek in a snapshot
Location
Moab, Utah
Managing Agency
Arches National Park
Pets
Not Allowed
Fees
None
Restrooms
None
Camping
Not allowed
Trail Condition
Dirt and sandstone rock trail. Part of the trail is on concrete until you turn left and walk on dirt
Sights
petroglyphs, pictographs
Water Info
Bring a bottle of water if needed
Best Season
All
Distance
About 1 mile roundtrip
Time Required
1 hour
Parking Elevation
3986 ft
Summit Elevation
4204 ft
Elevation Difference
218 ft
Trek Planner Maps
Trail Map for Trek Planner Insiders only!
(memberships are currently unavailable)This content is locked
Trailhead: 38°36’24.65″N, 109°35’14.53″W
The Rock Art GPS Coordinate is for Trek Planner Insiders only
(memberships are currently unavailable)This content is locked
Experience. Discover. Explore.
Follow along on our adventure then go out on your own!
The map that is provided at the trailhead gives you an ambiguous path to follow to the rock art. At first glance, you may be confused as to where you need to go – I was too! If you are a Trek Planner Insider Member, you have access to the trail map and GPS coordinates located above this text. If you are not a TP Insider Member, then you will need to find them on your own. Luckily, they aren’t too hard to find!
For the easiest and safest route to the rock art, you can park at the Moab Canyon Pathway parking lot at the GPS coordinates I listed above. Then you simply follow the concrete path across the Courthouse Wash bridge. Go another 100 yards past the bridge and then turn left on the dirt trail. You will see some cairns and just follow those to the rock art. You will see a big sign that gives you some fascinating information about the rock art.
This is what the sign says:
“Rock art is often found at crossroads in the landscape, such as here where Courthouse Wash joins the Colorado River. Along the cliff face above, Archaic Indians painted long, tapered figures known as the Barrier Canyon style of rock art. Painted on top of these pictographs are white shields of the prehistoric Anasazi or the historic Ute people. Petroglpyhs – images pecked, incised or abraded on stone – by the Utes are also here.
In 1980, this ancient rock art was vandalized. The National Park Service cleaned the defaced rock art but can never restore it. Much of the bright, contrasting pigment has been lost forever.
Most damage to rock art is done inadvertently. Help preserve rock art by not touching it, and by not leaving marks or graffiti on this or other canyon walls. Watch where you step – there are petroglpyhs on the flat surface below the painted figures.”
I was busy looking at the beautiful landscape below and almost stepped on this dead desert fox! It didn’t have any blood or anything on it so I wonder if it ate something bad?
If you follow the sandstone wall to the right you will continue to find more petroglpyhs. You will find sheep, other animals, people, symbols, shields, and more.
Personal Thoughts
I don't know how many times I have driven past this rock art panel and never knew they existed until my visit in Jan 2019! It makes me wonder what else is hidden right in front of us!
[…] Courthouse Wash Rock Art […]
[…] was invented here and you can see hints of it all throughout the region, including in Moab at the Courthouse Wash Pictograph Panel. Another spectacular example of Barrier Canyon Style rock art is at Sego Canyon which is east of […]
[…] was invented here and you can see hints of it all throughout the region, including in Moab at the Courthouse Wash Pictograph Panel. Another spectacular example of Barrier Canyon Style rock art is at Sego Canyon which is east of […]